The past few weeks have been hectic and stressful at work and Panto Season is lifting my spirits. We headed into the damp streets of Newcastle to find an elusive nearby car parking space and see Goldilocks and the Three Bears at the Theatre Royal. We bought our Family tickets back in July and at the time I didn’t realise it was opening night. Not that this was an issue though. An unusual choice of a storyline and I’m pretty sure I’d never seen this as a Pantomime before.
Goldilocks and the Three Bears – The Greatest Panto on Earth
I’ll quickly add before our review, that I’ll try not to let any major spoilers slip.
As we walked into the foyer, Catherine mentioned that it was Goldilocks and the Three Bears with a twist of Circus in the mix. This sort of made sense as Circus is what Danny Adams and Clive Webb do best. The soundtrack in the foyer, bar, and auditorium was circus/carnival style music. Setting the scene for what was about to be revealed.
The Greatest Show on Earth
The plot of this year’s pantomime is that Clive Webb the Ringmaster has brought his (non animal based) Rington’s Circus to Newcastle. Unfortunately, rival Circus owner, the Evil Baron Von Winklebottom, didn’t feel too comfortable with the competition. His circus was full of all types of animals; monkeys, Gorilla, Giraffes, Elephants, and Zebra. With the new nearby competition, the Baron decides to sabotage Rington’s Circus so that it must close down.
From the opening scene, the stage production, lighting, and scenery were impressively bright. I usually feel that the painted screens that drop in are worn out, but this production looked totally brand new. All elements were vibrant and eye-catching. Pulsing LED lighting and signage that popped!
Chris Hayward plays Dame Rita Rington providing local humor in amazing imaginative costumes. Wayne Smith is Starbuck, an American cowboy/tightrope walker, who is a straight-laced character. However, between the Dame and himself, they had me and the girls in stitches with their lunch order routine.
Golidilocks (Laura Evans) is the Ringmasters daughter and is the main singer in the show. Singing rewritten famous songs, including Hot Stuff and an Arianna Grande number.
Rington’s Circus Acts
All circuses need their specialty acts and this was no different. The Great Juggling Alfio (Juggling), The Berserk Riders (motorcycle stunt riders) and the Skating Medini (Roller Skating duo) join Danny Adams as the Clown / Magician. Not forgetting Mick Potts, the strongman, and general circus idiot.
If you’ve ever seen any of the Previous Pantomimes or The Cirque Du Hilarious before then you’ll have a good idea of the madcap crazy humour, magic, and stunts.
No pantomime would be complete without some audience participation. And tonight it was me! I was called on stage to take part in a scene from Romeo and Juliet. A scene that required a small amount of acting and a load of just having a laugh.
We had a laugh and had a good night out. Previous pantomimes we’ve seen were heavy on the singing, but this is more focused on the Circus side. The Goldilocks and the Three Bears story is interlinked in there too.
For more show info visit https://www.theatreroyal.co.uk/
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